Were setting up the rules for aa thing. Doesnt that strike you as odd?
Better than misunderstandings and fights and tears down the road, he said reasonably, which didnt seem to comfort Jane a great deal.
JANE WAS STILL a seething mass of conflicting emotions as she arrived for work the next morning. She was excited and terrified, happy and terrified, aroused at the mere thought of seeing Maxand terrified.
Mostly terrified that shed done something incredibly stupid. And yetshe was glad shed done it. No regrets. Just terror.
Carol greeted her with a smile. Morning, Jane. Where were you all afternoon?
Oh, I had some personal business to take care of. Stuff left over from the divorce. Like not having a place to live.
After hours of slogging around in the muggy heat looking for a suitable apartment, Jane had finally found one she could stand. It was almost within her budget and not too vile. It was tiny, but then again, she and Kaylee were used to close quarters.
One small hitch, though. She couldnt move in until mid-October. And she had to turn over her boat to the new owners next week. That left her with almost two weeks with no roof over her head.
So you heard the big news, yes? Carol said.
Yeah, I was there when Max talked to Ellen. Its great.
Its fantastic. We dont have to go job hunting! Im planning a party. Its tonight after work, can you come?
Oh, Id like to, but Id have to find a sitter for Kaylee. Hard to do on such short notice.
You could bring her along.
Well see. But no, because Max would be there. She felt terrible, deliberately keeping Max and her daughter apart when they were so clearly crazy about each other. But after her conversation with Max yesterday, it only made sense.
Shed seen the pain on his face when he talked about Hannah. She didnt want to be the cause of something like that. And clearly their thing did not have a high chance of survival, not when she and Max were so not ready to make any commitments.
Jane was sifting through some mail that had arrived for her-amazing how quickly art-supply companies had pegged her as a potential customer-when Max walked in.
Carol, have you talked to-oh, good morning, Jane. He had a big silly grin on his face, and Jane was afraid she had one to match.
Hi.
Uh, Carol, do you have the, uhwhat did I come in here for?
Have I talked to Carol parroted his words back to him.
He snapped his fingers. Right. Finley, the new account exec. He was going to call in with some information for payroll.
Got it right here.
Jane slipped past Max and practically sprinted for her office. Being around Max and acting strictly professional was going to be harder than shed thought. But she had to. It would look really, really bad for everybody to know he was sleeping with his art director.
She had a pile of work waiting for her, mostly small ads that needed minor updating. She put her purse away and fired up her computer, intending to make up for the time she took off yesterday.
Midway through the first ad, though, Max came into her office to discuss one of the projects.
Her mouth watered just looking at him. He was casual today, and he looked better in a pair of faded jeans than any man shed ever seen.
Their conversation was strictly business. Anyone seeing them or overhearing them would think nothing of it. But as they both bent over the ad on her drawing board, she could smell his soap-the same soap shed used in his shower yesterday when hed sudsed her up and done unspeakably wicked things to her body, causing him to be late returning to work.
Her whole body tensed with longing.
No. She was not going to give in to it. She had to focus on her work, because now she really needed this job. Shed forked over almost all her ready cash for the deposit and first months rent on her new apartment.
Once the newness of sex with Max wore off, she wouldnt feel like this all the time, she reasoned. She would be able to partition off that part of her life.
So, were squared away on the surf shop ad?
Yes, mm-hmm.
Something wrong?
No. No, everythings great. Sort of.
Are you coming to the party tonight?
If I can get a sitter.
You can bring- He stopped himself. Right. I hope you can make it, since you were instrumental in landing the account.
I hope I can, too. Mrs. Billingsly sometimes did evening babysitting. Jane made a mental note to call her. Where is this party, anyway?
On the Dragonfly. Whats the use of owning one-sixth of a fishing business if I cant get a free charter now and then? Sara is doing the catering for the cost of food. Well fish for a couple of hours in the bay, then anchor and eat and drink until the refreshments run out. If its dark by then, well look at the stars through Coopers telescope.
It sounds like fun. Ill try to make it.
Carol leaned her head in the door. Hey, girlfriend, Im headed to Fresco Deli for lunch. You in?
Jane took stock of her work and decided she had everything under control. Sure.
How about you, boss man? Carol asked.
I have some work to do. But if you could bring me back a ham and swiss on rye with mustard, Id be grateful. He handed Carol a ten.
Um, this is a health-food place. I could probably manage tofu and avocado on seven grain.
He grimaced. Whatever. God, I miss New York sometimes.
It was a gorgeous day. The lingering summer heat and humidity had finally broken, and Jane inhaled deeply as she and Carol exited the building.
Why dont we walk? she suggested as Carol pulled her car keys out of her purse. Its only a few blocks.
Carol shrugged. Okay. I guess it is the perfect day for it.
They walked in companionable silence for about half a block, until finally a question burst out of Carol. So? Are you going to tell me?
Tell you what? Jane asked warily.
About you and the boss man.
What are you talking about? Jane asked to buy herself time. Oh, dear, this was bad. It hadnt even been twenty-four hours since Jane and Max had succumbed to temptation, and already Carol knew about it.
Come on, girlfriend. Its all over your faces-both of you. When he walked into the room you stared at each other like a couple of lovesick calves.
UmI plead the Fifth. What else could she say? Denials seemed ridiculous, and anyway she didnt like lying.
Hah! I knew it! From the moment you first walked into the office I sensed a vibe between you two. Cmon, give. Whats going on? Is he as hot as he looks?
Jane shot Carol a sharp look.
Carol rolled her eyes. Hes not my type-too young, too scrawny and too pale. But I recognize prime beef on the hoof when I see it.
Jane gave an embarrassed laugh. Carol, please.
You did it at lunch yesterday, didnt you? Max came back to the office looking like he was going to burst, he was so happy.
Of course he was happy. Hed just gotten the KidznStuff account.
Youre evading the question.
Theyd arrived at the deli, and Jane busied herself studying the menu as they stood in line at the counter. They have a ham and swiss, she said.
I know, I just said that to jerk Maxs chain. Hes always talking about how great the delis are in New York. Interesting that the first thing you looked for when you picked up the menu was something for your man.
Carol, stop it.
If you want me to stop it, you gotta come clean. If you and the boss man are steam-pressing the sheets, it could cause problems. I need to know the truth, so I can commence damage and rumor control.
Jane thought that was a pretty thin excuse for simply wanting to hear gossip.
Ill tell you, Jane finally said.
She waited until theyd both picked up their sandwich orders and taken them to a small table on the sidewalk outside. Carol watched her with curious eyes, but she didnt push further.
We slept together one time. It was at his place, yesterday, and I have no idea where its going or even if its going. It might be that we got it out of our systems.
In a way Jane wished that were the case. But Max certainly wasnt out of her system.
Hmph, I doubt that. Carol took a bite of her turkey sandwich. So whats his place like?
Jane hadnt been paying much attention to Maxs condo at the time, because shed been way too focused on other things. But now that she thought about it, she had some recollections. It was big. Two stories, probably three bedrooms. And it was fancy. Modern furniture, but good quality. Nice rugs. Nothing cluttered or fussy.
Still, she thought sharing details about Maxs home bordered on gossip. Do you want your pickle? She nodded toward Carols plate.
Okay, I get it. You arent into sharing details. I can accept that. But just answer me one thing. Do you want it to get serious? Cause you could do a whole lot worse than Max Remington. His family is worth millions. Some day hell inherit. You could send Kaylee to Harvard.
Carol. Im not attracted to Max because of his money.
Or was she? One of the reasons shed married Scott was because he was wealthy. She wouldnt have admitted it at the time, but in the back of her mind shed known that as his wife she wouldnt have to worry about money.
Was she doing the same thing now? She was scarcely away from one rich husband. On some level, was she counting on Max to someday be Rich Husband #2?
Chapter Thirteen
Max reached into Saras Tupperware, grabbed a stuffed mushroom, and popped it into his mouth.
Hey, let me at least get them onto a platter. They were setting up refreshments on the Dragonfly in preparation for the first Remington Agency party. Carol was already there, and the others-his two account executives, Jane and Reece-would arrive soon. Cooper and Allie were readying the boat for a leisurely cruise around the bay.
These are good. Max reached for another mushroom, but Sara batted his hand away.
No more. Give the guests a chance at the food, please. You know, Reece claims that when you were kids and you stayed at his house, if there was something on his dinner plate he didnt like, he would slip it to you or the dog.
He laughed, feeling happy and relaxed for the first time in a good while. True. Ill eat anything.
A movement on the Princess II next door caught his eye, and his heart did a flip-flop as it always did whenever he saw Jane. She opened the hatch and stood in the doorway, barefoot but otherwise still in her work clothes.